“The Kellers were not the only ones to face outlandish charges; in the 1980s and early ’90s, a phenomenon that has since become known as “Satanic Panic” was sweeping the nation. A confluence of societal factors led to widespread hysteria about Satanists who were hidden in plain view and running clandestine, national child sex abuse rings. Hundreds of people — many of them daycare workers — were accused of abuse, including the McMartin family in California and Margaret Kelly Michaels in New Jersey. (The McMartins were eventually acquitted, and Michaels was exonerated, but not until she had spent six years in prison).”
Read the article by Bethania Palmer at Snopes.com. An excellent overview of the ritual-abuse panic and its precedents.
“The decision brings an end to one of the more prominent cases brought during the so-called Satanic Panic of the 1980s and the early 1990s, where fears of devil-worshippers influencing American children spread rapidly. During this time, hundreds of childcare providers were accused of unspeakable crimes, and many would spend years behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit.”
If all this were not enough, the now elderly Kellers, who have been remarkably stoic and patient – even forgiving – during their long ordeal, are near a breaking point. They live on minimal Social Security, supplemented unevenly by family and friends, and both have serious health problems (caused or aggravated by imprisonment) that they can’t afford to address. Worse, their spirits are breaking – on the phone trying to discuss their circumstances, Fran quickly breaks down in tears, and she says the normally resilient Dan (deaf from prison neglect) has become increasingly despondent.
One truth that I have learned is something that I wrote in a recent post: “Beneath every story is another story that brings light to what is on the surface.” This is true in the story of every prisoner I have met. There are evil people in prison. There are some who should never again be entrusted with freedom beyond these stone walls, but they are a small minority. For the vast majority of prisoners I have met, restoring justice to their lives and restoring their freedom is a singular goal. The problem is that there is very little that happens in a one-size-fits-all prison that helps bring that about, and there is a lot in prison that actually works against it.
